Jakarta-Bandung toll road sinks, closed for four days
Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung
People wishing to use the new turnpike between Jakarta and Bandung will have to cancel their plans for four days as a section of the road, known as the Cipularang turnpike, subsided on Monday night. Repairs are currently underway and the road is expected to reopen on Saturday.
A senior official with the state toll road operator PT Jasa Marga said the subsidence had been discovered by the company's workers on Monday night as they patrolled the area in Sukatani subdistrict, Purwakarta regency. When first spotted, there was only a small hole in the middle of the road. This, however, grew bigger and by Tuesday morning, the hole reached eight meters in width and four meters deep. The company closed the road at midnight on Monday and suggested that motorists take alternative routes either via Cianjur or Purwakarta.
"The incident was unexpected," said Minister of Public Works Joko Kirmanto, who visited the site on Tuesday.
The incessant rain earlier on Monday evening, compounded with unstable soil conditions, was responsible for the subsidence, said Heru Atmodjo, the head of PT Jasa Marga's Purwakarta-Bandung-Cileunyi operations.
Hendro revealed the unstable nature of the soil had earlier concerned the designers. The builders, including PT Adhikarya, had hoped to avoid the problem by compacting the soil in order to make it more solid, but the incident still happened on Monday, said Hendro.
The contractor, PT Adhikarya, has deployed an excavator to fill hole with rubble, with repair efforts expected to last a maximum four days, said Hendro.
Marjianto, operations director of PT Jasa Marga, said the company would suffer losses of Rp 400 million (US$40,000) due to the incident. As the road had been closed, the company would lose the tolls paid by the some 24,000 vehicles that passed along it everyday on average, said Marjianto.
As of Tuesday, many drivers who had heard nothing about the closure of part of the road found themselves stuck in traffic jams. "Had the government given out information earlier on the toll road subsidence on radio or television, I would have not picked this route," said motorist Sri Redjeki.
Connecting Cikampek, Purwakarta and Padalarang (Cipularang), the new 41.3-kilometer road was opened on April 26. It soon became popular among travellers as it shortened the trip between Jakarta and Bandung from four hours to two-and-a-half hours.
The construction of the road had earlier spurred controversy with many critics saying the government had speeded up construction too much, thereby sacrificing quality, in order to have it ready for the Asia Africa Conference golden jubilee celebrations in Bandung city in April.